Northbrook College and City College Brighton to merge and create a new Metropolitan College

Northbrook College and City College are proposing to merge. The merger will be one of equals, where two strong Colleges come together under the leadership of a single Board and Executive team.

The proposals have been developed over many months and the time has now come to seek the views and opinions of everyone in the economic area of the City Region through a public consultation that starts today and concludes on 17 November.

The new organisation will build on the proud history and heritage of both Colleges - stretching back over 120 years - but will create a modern and forward looking institution that embraces the opportunities and challenges facing students in the 21
st
century.

The consultation proposes a new name,
The
Metropolitan College,
to reflect the combination of people, ideas, culture and place that the new organisation will serve.

The College will continue to operate from its five primary sites across Worthing, Shoreham and Brighton and will use the opportunity created by increased scale and efficiency to invest in its curriculum. A particular focus will be apprenticeships and higher-level professional and technical skills.

The planned date for the legal aspects of the merger to conclude is 31 March 2017.

In a joint statement, Sue Dare, Principal of Northbrook and Nick Juba, CEO of City College said:

“This is all about establishing a College that can deliver for our students. A College that celebrates and promotes professional and vocational routes into work and higher education. We want our students to go on and do amazing things, to live fulfilling lives and follow rewarding careers. The Metropolitan College will offer clear routes right up the educational ladder providing opportunities for every young person or adults across the economic area of the City Region to gain the knowledge and skills they need to succeed.”

In a joint statement, Ian Lowrie and Julie Nerney, Chairs of Governors at the two colleges, said:

“The Metropolitan College will be the engine room of the local economy training the next generation of carpenters, coders, beauticians and digital artists. We want to play our part in ensuring that businesses across the economic area of the City Region have access to the pipeline of talent they need to develop, grow and create wealth for all of our residents.

We’re excited by the opportunity to strengthen the relationship between the two Colleges and to work in collaboration with businesses, local authorities, politicians, educational providers and all of our local communities for the good of our students, apprentices and undergraduates.

Now we need to hear your views so that we can ensure our proposals can be shaped by the needs of everyone in the economic area of the City Region”.